Imperial Commando: Ghosts
by Drizzt1138
Summary: Darman, Niner and Rede are sent on another Jedi-hunt. This time it takes them to a planet they never thought they would return to: Geonosis. Rated T for violence. Please rate and review!


Star Wars

Imperial Commando:

Ghosts

_For Shan'ika, from your Freshie_

_Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum_

_Author's note: Before you ask, no, this has nothing to do with Call of Duty. The title just made sense when I thought of it._

* * *

_Imperial gunship in Geonosian atmosphere_

_Approximately 9 weeks after the formation of the Galactic Empire_

Darman listened silently as the Imperial Intelligence officer explained the situation.

"According to our sources, the Jedi is hiding out in the caves in one of these spires. The operation is the same as it always is: neutralize the target, use any means necessary- within reason. Also, note that stealth is a priority in this mission. This particular target is a Knight who has been known to choose running away over taking a stand."

The officer walked off to a different part of the hold, and Niner took the job of finishing the briefing. "You heard the man. From this point forward this is being treated as a stealth op. No unnecessary contact with hostiles."

"What's our specific plan of action?" Rede asked.

"Didn't you hear the officer? Move in, take out the target, bang out. We don't know where the target is, so we find him. That's all we really can do."

Rede didn't seem to see the logic in that, but he couldn't think of a better plan, so he just kept quiet and nodded. Darman tried to calm him on a private comlink channel. "Don't worry, you'll get used to unsatisfying answers in this job. Eventually."

The gunship lowered close to the ground, and the pilot spoke over the intercom. "We're gonna hit the ground in 15! Get ready to jump out!"

The commandos did their final gear checks and faced the door that would open up and let them set foot on a planet Darman had believed- had hoped- he would never set foot on again.

"In 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Deploy!"

Darman dashed out of the gunship, his boots crunching on the parched earth. In reality the only sounds were those of the squad running across the open ground and the hum of the gunship's engines. In his mind, however, Darman could hear blaserfire, the screams of his fallen brothers, explosions from destroyed vehicles.

They ran from the ship to the pillar of stone that the Jedi was supposedly hiding in. They ran through the ruins and the memories of their first mission. The Republic hadn't cared enough to clean up after itself after the first Battle of Geonosis, or the second for that matter, so they ended up running through the burnt-out remains of LAAT/i gunships and wrecked spider droids.

They kept running through the sand and the heat, trying their best to not be seen. It wasn't until several minutes after the sound of the gunship's engines had faded away that they reached the pillar. Darman and Niner were physically and emotionally exhausted. Rede did not share that sentiment, but he did seem confused. "Why did the Republic leave all this stuff behind?"

Darman and Niner gave each other a glance, and then the prior spoke up. "They didn't have the funding or motivation to get rid of it. Why would anyone in the Republic care if there's a bunch of junk on some planet light-years away from them? Now let's figure out a way to get into this pillar."

Rede didn't seem to like this answer any more than the last one he had been given, but again he kept his mouth shut.

They eventually found a cave that led into the massive monolith. The low-light vision on their helmets kicked in, allowing them to see everything around them without the use of a lamp or glow-stick. They moved in silently and swiftly, like a pack of wolves in human form. They came to a place where the cave branched off into two tunnels, one that sloped upwards and one that sloped downwards, and stopped to consider which path to take.

"Let's take the one that goes up. It probably stays inside the spire, but the other one might lead into a larger cave system with more branches. Agreed?" Niner said all this on their squad's comlink channel, so to anyone outside the squad the commando's would have appeared to be completely silent. Darman and Rede nodded and followed him up the tunnel.

After a short trek it became apparent that Niner was right. They didn't see any other paths to take, but they did come to a place about halfway up the spire where the cave led to the outside, forming a kind of drop-off. As they looked out at the setting sun, they could see other monoliths like the one they were in, as well as more wreckage from the Clone Wars.

Niner turned back to them and sighed loudly. "Time to try the other tunnel. Stick close, it'll be easy to get lost in there."

They made their way back to the entrance of the pillar and took the downward path. Once again, Niner's prediction was right; the tunnels wound deeper and deeper, widening and narrowing and branching off in several places. To avoid getting lost, Rede placed trackers on the cave walls whenever they reached a crossroads so that they could find their way back. Darman just kept walking after them, mutely observing the walls and floor. As they went further they found more and more evidence of the battles that had taken place there just a couple years ago. Blast marks, scraps of metal, even doors and rooms leading to the old droid factories.

And then they came to a place Darman hadn't forgotten and would never forget.

At the intersection of five different tunnels, there was a blown-out blast door. The floor was littered with withered Geonosian corpses and the armored corpses of Commandos just like them. This had been the last place Darman had seen the rest of his original squad alive.

The room was also lit by the blue glow of a lightsaber.

Darman didn't even see it at first. What he did see was the Geonosians, he felt the impact from the explosions of battle, he heard someone yelling over a comlink between bursts of static, "…down! Man down here!" And then he saw Etain, his precious Etain, being cut down by members of her own Order. Tears filled his eyes, and only then did he notice the Jedi. He was yelling the names of those he had lost, " Taler! Jay! Vin! Jay! Taler! Vin! Et'ika… ET'IKA!" With the last cry his scream turned feral and he lunged, firing his DC-17, not hearing his squad-mates yelling at him to calm down.

The Jedi did not hear Darman screaming. He didn't hear any of the chaos, any noise at all except for the hum of his blade and the sound of the blaster being fired. He reacted quickly, batting the bolts away, but he didn't register quite how close Darman was getting, didn't notice the vibroblade that had ejected from his gauntlet.

Darman jumped onto the Jedi, narrowly avoiding the swinging lightsaber and thrusting his own blade deep into his ribs. The Jedi was shocked, coughing a bit, then going limp. Darman was gasping and sobbing, and eventually fell to the ground alongside the fresh corpse.

Rede was completely speechless. Niner was numbly calling in a transport and confirming that the target had been eliminated. Darman was speaking, although not to anyone who could hear him. He kept muttering, "I couldn't hold it in any longer…" over and over, until they had finally left the caves and could hear the gunship coming in to take them back to the Star Destroyer that was waiting in orbit.

* * *

_Imperial Star Destroyer Indigent, in Geonosian orbit_

Darman sat silently on his bunk, his armor carelessly strewn about the room. He heard Rede enter the room, but did not acknowledge the fact that he was there.

"What was that you were yelling in the cave? Sounded like names… I know enough Mando'a to know the last one was someone you cared about…"

"Shut up Rede. Leave me alone." Darman turned away from him, but he didn't leave.

"Wait a minute… did you know the troopers who were in there? Is that why you're so upset?"

"I said usen'ye, chakaar! Get your shebs out of my room before I kick them out myself!"

Rede hadn't heard that first phrase often, but he recognized it. It was the rudest possible way to tell someone to go away in the Mandalorian language. "What is your problem? Why can't you just accept the fact that I'm part of your squad now? I'm trying to show I'm worth something; I can help you! I'm trying to comfort you, and you just blow up in my face!"

They were both shaking, and there was a long silence that was only broken by the ever-present moan of the ships engines. Eventually Darman let out a long sigh. "You are part of the squad. And you've proven your worth too many times to count." After a shorter silence, Darman gathered his resolve and spoke up again. "I did know the troopers in there. They were the members of my original squad. I'm the only one left."

"But normally there are four members on a squad. You shouted four names… who was the last one?"

Darman sagged with grief, even though he was buzzing with fear at the same time. "My wife. A Jedi killed my wife."

Rede took a second to process this. "So that's why you hate them so much. But aren't clones not allowed to marry?"

"I'm not sure anyone really cares… there's no law against it… but it's probably 'frowned upon' by command."

There was yet another silence. Then Rede spoke. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

"I know you won't, ner vod. I know you won't."


End file.
